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Watching his highlights from last game, he seemed to playing almost as a 10/inverted winger for the majority of the game. He seemed to drop deeper later in the game though. I didn't watch the full match so I could be mistaken. So I'm not sure if he'll get to play in "preferred role" all the time.

Costa clearly succeeded... Llorente has as well. Negredo was decent and important for city a few years ago. Michu had a brilliant season. I would argue that any Spanish striker that has been good enough in general has succeeded in the EPL.

I don't see it happening. In the friendlies, he has played in the attacking three and not the middle 2. If Conte wanted to keep him as a CM, I think he would have played him there to test it out. I know chalobah played in the front 3 a few times in a defensive way at the end of games, but still.

Fair enough on Messi, that's why i didn't exactly include him on the list. The way I made my list was if I was thinking of improving our RW, which I think we should (new wingbacks are more important though), then those are the players that would be better than willian there. For a few of them, their best position (as you pointed out) is a different one, but I believe they are all still better than Willian at RW. And haha it's not ignorance, it's that we clearly rate him very differently. What I want from him is to be a better player. To improve his poor decision making and lack of final third production. He improved that a bit last season with some more open play goals, but I don't consider that improvement enough. He still constantly slows play down, plays it safe too often, is poor at seeing/playing a final ball. He is brilliant with the ball, has incredible speed and acceleration, and is a excellent dribbler at times...but he has no idea how to use it. He uses the same move where he stops, then wiggles his foot and body, then cuts the ball to the right and kicks it away quickly. It's predictable and it allows the defense to get set. He is poor in counter attacking for the reasons above too. I've said this previously, but I think he should reinvent himself as a box to box CM. I think he could be just brilliant there, and it would off set his lack of ability in the final third. He is better dribbler coming from deep in my opinion, and this position could allow more opportunities for it. As The Skipper said, maybe he is best as a strong squad player. I would agree with that. He is an important player for us right now as he is the only real back up in the wing positions. He is an excellent squad player.

Wingers are hard to distinguish which side, as most top ones play effectively on either side. So I will include many players who often play more on the left, but are still better than Willian on the right. Di Maria, James, Mertens, Robben, Bale, Douglas Costa, Sanchez, muller, hazard and griezmann and KDB and Neymar when they play there. Does Messi count? One could argue that Dembele and Sane are close or on the same level. I rate Mahrez higher. think Pedro is much better than him, which is why he's behind him on the pecking order. That's 17 in my opinion and I could have missed some. Even without the ones that are close, it's still over 10. That's not near one of the best to me

Good performance. The talent is clearly there.
I don't want his performance to be overrated here though. He did well, but it left a few question marks for me too. He didn't seem super willing to make runs off the ball and seemed content with playing it safe. I wouldn't call his performance "direct" as some have. He didn't really drive with the ball directly at the goal, instead being safe, taking the ball away from defenders. Once he passed it or lost it, he often stood still. Part of this may have been he was fatigued (he seemed very tired in the second half especially). Part of it may just be he preferred to play it safe and not take too many risks. Part of it may be confidence.
He has all the talent and physical tools, but I worry about it translating to the first team. It was a mostly positive performance. Hopefully he grows in confidence.

YES! Would be brilliant signing. I don't see Arsenal letting him go, but would be excellent for us. Either as a CM or as RWB, I would be happy with him. We (and he) would need to figure out which position is best for him long-term, because he needs to be a specialist for his own growth, and not continue to move around. He could do a job as a RW in cases too. Homegrown is just an added bonus.

Ideal scenario to me: Sell Matic to United, and still get Sandro. If Matic really is being used in an exchange of sorts (i doubt this to be honest), then that is great too. We should prioritize getting Sandro, so if matic helps then do it.
If Sandro isn't coming in return, I would rather Matic go to Man U. They get a super average player, and we get a decent chunk of money. Most importantly, it stops United from getting a better, more dynamic CM. I think they will buy a CM one way or another, so them getting an average one would be brilliant.

Very excited about this transfer. I think he will do brilliantly long-term for us. He clearly wants to be the first choice striker at a club, so I know he will work hard to make sure he deserves it. I think he will be grateful for this opportunity and will stay a very long time.
It is going to be so weird/refreshing to have a striker that is really good with the ball. Being able to join in on the build up without breaking things down. He is very good at most everything, which can sometimes work against players, but I do not think it will here. Conte will shape him in to how he wants him to play and Morata has the potential for become a specialist in a few areas. There's so much potential with him.
One player who I see him helping a lot is Hazard. He will have a striker he can combine with really well, it is going to do wonders for space and those 1-2's he enjoys. Maybe more than that is that Morata seems to drift that the left side when up top. That might have to do with that he played more out wide at juve some, but he seems to favor that side when attacking. i just think he'll combine brilliantly once hazard is fit again. Having Baka's driving runs, hazards unbelievable dribbling, and Morata's speed and dribbling on the same side is exciting to me. Just imagine if we somehow end up with Sandro!
I won't judge him only off his goals. Overall contribution is always more important to me. I don't want to bring it up on the first page, but will anyways...I don't see him scoring more than Lukaku, but I see him being a lot more beneficial to the team. Definitely the better choice.
Good luck Morata!

Yea my understanding is the same. That we don't actually need a certain number of homegrown, but instead that there is a limit on how many non-homegrown. So it is that we can have 17 non-homegrown players. Then if you want players on your roster they have tobe homegrown (a max of 7, or unlimited U-21). I think it was@tomo who explained that Eduardo actually doesn't necessarily take up a spot either. That he can just not be registered, and if we need him cause injuries then we can use some emergency rule and switch him with another non-homegrown player.

I still feel they are very reliable. You just actually have to read what it says. Sky sources are still accurate. If they say "interested" then you have to realize that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to happen. I still believe we are interested in Aguero. If sky sources say things are close or are close to being done, I believe it too. They are very accurate, just pay attention to the wording.

Anybody know why Christensen and Musonda didn't play? I'm assuming fitness or they came back later than others? I know I've seen Christensen in pics of training, but I don't know if I've seen Musonda. They aren't training alone though, so I don't think they're moving on

We should prefer one of the top left-backs in the world first. No doubt for me. The Ox would be a brilliant signing especially if we sell matic. Could fill in at CM if needed. We will sign another CM if matic leaves though.

I understand those views. Like I said, it might be about the intangibles I see in Chalobah that aren't often evident in players.
About Colkett and Baker: I agree with all those points, but they aren't enough for me to want them to play. I don't get the hype around Baker to be honest. I would never play a player just because they are good at set pieces. He is two-footed, but that doesn't help that much. He never imposes himself enough for me. Colkett, I understand the hype from some a bit more because like you said, he is a tremendous passer, but I don't think he effects play enough. I don't see him cutting it at the top level. One of those who can shine when the youth set-up, when there is so much more space, etc. The gap is seriously so massive to first team, and I don't think he will make the cut. I would love to be proven wrong about these two though.
Anyways, I appreciate the decent debate when we disagree about Nat's abilities.

It really is the aura he has about him that I wanted him to make it so badly. But I also said he is solid at most everything. I really do think he is a better player than matic. In our current formation, he doesn't necessarily HAVE to excel at certain things. He shows spurts of brilliant passing and vision. He is good enough defensively, although I think he needs to improve his positioning.
I don't think we have better players than him that are behind him in the pecking order. RLC has been a joke when he plays. He has ridiculous potential, but doesn't seem to be ready to make the step up yet (we'll see this season). I don't rate colkett or baker as highly as chalobah. I think they are overrated by many.
Christensen obviously deserves a chance, but it's irrelevant to this discussion.

Actually very sad to see him go. He is the one I wanted most to make it here. I'm not too crazy on youth making it, but he really is the one I was hoping for.
He just has this swagger about him when he plays. I just think he brings a presence that isn't something that can be taught. Future Captain material somewhere. He is clearly a great guy to have in dressing room and gets along with people. I'll never forget the way he came across to Aguero after that horror tackle on Luiz. He stood up for this teammate and team, showed no fear in defending that. I'll also never forget that assist to moses. Pure class there.
He doesn't really excel at this point in any facet of the game, so I'm hoping he will develop that soon. He has the potential to though, and he solid at just about everything. I'm hoping he adds a bit to his game and becomes a dominant box-to-box or defensive midfielder. I rate him higher than matic, and think he should have gotten more playing this past season over him, but it is hard when you are winning with a certain line-up. I was really hoping matic would be sold and he would get more PT this season, but I get it.
It seems that this was his choice so that is fair enough, I wish him nothing but the best. I want to see him succeed, and I hope we put a buy back clause in. I have no doubt he would have stayed if he had more playing time, so if he develops enough for him to start for us, I think he will come back gladly.